Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has re-emerged at a rare public appearance on Capitol Hill, defending his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and criticizing the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made a rare public appearance on Capitol Hill, where he defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and criticized the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
Cuomo's appearance on Capitol Hill came as part of a wider effort to rehabilitate his image after he resigned as governor in 2021 following a sexual harassment scandal.
Andrew Cuomo Breaks Silence on Capitol Hill, Defends Pandemic Record, Slams Trump Prosecution
The former governor has been largely out of the public eye since leaving office, but he broke his silence in an interview with HBO host Bill Maher last week, in which he claimed that the Trump prosecution was politically motivated.
Cuomo doubled down on those claims during his appearance on Capitol Hill, saying that if Trump had not been running for president, he would not have been prosecuted for his hush money payments.
Andrew Cuomo Breaks Silence on Capitol Hill, Defends Pandemic Record, Slams Trump Prosecution
"The attorney general's case in New York frankly should have never been brought," Cuomo said, noting that many New Yorkers, even those who don't like Trump, find it offensive.
Cuomo's attack on the case, which resulted in Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, began by describing how many New Yorkers don't view it as a fair case.
Andrew Cuomo Breaks Silence on Capitol Hill, Defends Pandemic Record, Slams Trump Prosecution
"The trials in New York, New Yorkers said – 66% said the justice system is politicized. And there's nobody in New York who likes Trump," he said. "And still, 66% said the justice system is politicized. That's why I think he's not paying the same price for these verdicts because they believe it is political."
Cuomo, who resigned as governor following a sexual harassment scandal in 2021, described that the real threat to democracy is these cases undermining peoples' belief that the justice system is fair.
"And you want to talk about a threat to democracy: when you have this country believing you're playing politics with the justice system and you're trying to put people in jail or convict them for political reasons, then we have a real problem," he said.
Maher followed up by talking about how much money Trump got from supporters over his conviction, calling it the "greatest fundraising bonanza ever."
Elsewhere, he expressed the same opinion as Cuomo on the hush money trial, saying, "I don't think they should've brought that one. It was just always going to look like a sex case and people were always just going to look at it that way."
The former governor and former New York attorney general agreed, and then went on to argue that the case was brought against Trump because of who he is.
"If his name was not Donald Trump and if he wasn't running for president – I'm the former AG of New York – I'm telling you that case would've never been brought. And that's what's offensive to people."
"And it should be," he said, adding, "because if there's anything left, it's belief in the justice system."
Cuomo's appearance on Capitol Hill was met with mixed reactions. Some lawmakers praised him for his work on the pandemic, while others criticized him for his handling of the sexual harassment allegations.
Overall, Cuomo's appearance on Capitol Hill was an attempt to rehabilitate his image and to influence the upcoming midterm elections. It remains to be seen whether he will be successful in these efforts.
